Distant Bloom Review

I’m 11 hours into Ember Trail’s cosy exploration game Distant Bloom, and everywhere I run, there are budding herbs, colourful trees, and all sorts of fungi thriving on this mysterious alien planet. There’s so much greenery that it’s almost easy to forget that the beginning of my adventure didn’t start this way at all. When my crew and I first crash-landed on this world, it was certainly abundant but in all the wrong things — garbage piles, oil spills, and glass shards, just to name a few. Abandoned and desolate, it was clear this planet needed someone with a green thumb and good intentions, so with the help of my crew, we put in the work to transform this inhospitable place into the comfy, vibrant, and thriving home we’d been searching for.

As I describe all this, you might be picturing a human protagonist and crewmates, but in this case, your characters are an alien species, and you’re putting on the space boots of the Assistant. After your long expedition among the stars, you don’t quite stick the landing, and you awake next to a burning Cryopod with only your robot companion by your side. With your ship and friends missing, you’ll embark on a new journey to find your lost crew, heal the land with the impactful power of plants, and unravel the mystery behind this world and its former inhabitants.

If you’re passionate about caring for the environment, I’m certain you’ll like Distant Bloom’s commitment to restoration and sustainability. This wholesome focus on loving nature paired with non-destructive, chill gameplay makes this title very cosy from start to finish. Every action you take is positive, with the gameplay loop consisting of nurturing the alien flora, cleaning up pollutants, and recycling resources you receive from the clean-up process. I absolutely love that you’re always giving back to the ecosystem, not needlessly taking from it. There’s no combat or time constraints either, which lets me go at my own pace with no stress at all.

Exploration and gardening go hand-in-hand since planting seeds directly affects your ability to reach new areas, as blooming flora allows root bridges to grow and even energises stone pillars that enable you to cross significant gaps in the environment. The gardening process begins with groups of hexagonal soil tiles where you’ll simply dig holes with your shovel and select what type of seed to plant; you’re rewarded with larger, happier plants if you grow different types next to each other rather than filling the space with a single kind. When plants have two different neighbours, they’ll produce seeds that you can harvest, which can be replanted or turned into fertiliser. As you go from biome to biome, you’ll also encounter different soils, which require you to choose the correct type of flora that will thrive there — dry plants go in dry soil, for example.

The difficulty is fairly low when it comes to gardening, which makes for a perfect casual experience where you can just enjoy seeing the world bloom. You’re never without seeds in your inventory either, as you’ll have an abundant amount to harvest with each completed set of plants. My whole playthrough has been pretty relaxing, and I noticed it’s really easy to slip into a rhythm. Most of all, it’s so satisfying to see the zones become colourful and lively, so it’s not surprising that I frequently found myself saying “one more” every time I’d finished with a set of tiles. My absolute favourite part was seeing tiny, adorable creatures return as the flora grows — and you can pet them.

Cleaning up the planet is also a major part of Distant Bloom. You’ll frequently come across garbage piles, which you can pick up easily, but tougher pollutants, like oil spills, will require your handy ExoMulti, a jack-of-all-trades tool that allows you to break down plenty of obstacles. The various waste and debris also prevent you from getting to new areas, blocks which basically serve as progression checks; the more you play, the more upgrades you’ll unlock for the ExoMulti, allowing you to get rid of any goop, glass, or oil blocking your way. Once broken down, these yield resources like plastic and scrap metal, which you’ll put towards building your home base or making gifts for your crewmates. Once again, I love that when you do decide to build and grow, you’re repurposing the trash plaguing the environment, aligning with the game’s environmental message.

The narrative sends you on easy quests to find your lost crew or uncover new information about what happened to this world. Each discovery is engaging, and I’ve loved meeting the characters, all of whom have distinct personalities. Although they all remain at your base while you go out exploring, they do assist you with upgrades, making food, and more. There is a minor gift system that will result in those items showing up as decorations around your base. However, there isn’t a friendship meter that you have to keep track of; it’s more so just something to do to be friendly, which is pretty on-brand for this title.

Quests do get repetitive, however, and require a lot of back and forth between biomes and your base, which can get difficult if you’re directionally challenged (I am), as the map doesn’t show you exactly where you are. With several small paths, turns, and more, I got lost a lot. Thankfully, Distant Bloom’s art style is lovely to look at, and exploring the world is enjoyable. There’s also a partial fast-travel system unlocked later on that makes things a bit easier, though I’ll admit I occasionally wished I could just have a “return to base” button.

As for bugs, I encountered a persistent one where the UI would disappear, and my ability to interact with NPCs or use tools stopped working. It usually happened after I opened up a menu, like my inventory or journal, and, funnily enough, doing that again fixed it every time. Even still, this bug happened multiple times each play session, taking me out of the experience (if briefly).

That said, those minor annoyances haven’t diminished my enjoyment of this title. The gardening-based gameplay, exploration, and story are all well-crafted, providing a relaxing yet meaningful time on this lovely alien planet. If you’re looking for a cute, cosy experience all about renewing and preserving the environment, Distant Bloom is the perfect game to crash-land on.